Savanna Showdown

Race the Wild #4

by Kristin Earhart

On a once-in-a-lifetime race through the animal kingdom, it takes smarts, strength, and skill to win! This amazing race is getting wild!When the teams take on the African savanna, the competition heats up, and Mari starts to feel the pressure. She's never been the strongest or the fastest racer. Sure, she knows almost everything about lions and rhinos and zebras. But facts can only get the team so far. She better keep up, or she might let her friends down. Because the finish line is in sight, and Team Red wants to win!Each chapter in this action-packed adventure series is bursting with totally true facts about wild and wonderful creatures, dangerous habitats, maps, and more!

Genres: Chapter Books, Childrens, Adventure, Travel, Animals

144 pages, Paperback

First published December 29, 2015

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

The series improves after the first book, IMO. The characters are a bit better defined and the series continues to pair animal and habitat information with the exciting action-adventure of the race. I still don’t feel that any of the characters really came alive for me, or were particularly endearing, nor do I feel the plots are overall that memorable. However, it’s a decent blend of education and fun and my children enjoyed the series. Are some of the depictions of diversity a bit stereotypical? Maybe. Mari is (I think) Asian-American and is the "brainiac" -- Russell is African-American and the "athlete" and Dev is of Indian descent and is tech-savvy. They do all contribute to the group in other ways and don't feel completely one-dimensional, at least. Each of the first four books is told from a different teammate's perspective. Not outstanding, but some reluctant readers might enjoy the action and learn something along the way.

[Amber]

Lunch read aloud as part of our Africa Social Studies unit. We've never read this series before so I don't know if my feelings on this book should be isolated to just this story or the series in general. In "Savanna Showdown" there are 4 kids who are competing on "The Wild Life" (think kids version of "Survivor") to win $1 million. They answer various clues to complete a challenge and move on to the next section of the game. The book had a lot of potential to share about the culture and environment of Africa and in my opinion, failed miserably. The majority of the book was focused on drama amongst the teams (cheating, loyalty amongst teams, etc) and aside from a few trivia points at the end of each chapter it did not teach or enlighten the reader with actual African history.

[Shiv Goyal · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the series Race the wild.
I really like realistic fiction and nonfiction.


I like people who make smart choices like the kids in the book. I also like how they are in the wild
like they saw wildbeests
and they checked in thier bag and they saw a tracking device!!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fun and adventurous series is infused with real facts about wildlife that will appeal to both kids and teachers.

[Darsh Bhuva · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is really good with really good descriptions of animals and how they look!

[Oliver · Rating 5 out of 5]

cool

[harper bowen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yay! They won

[Laura D · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book include positive character lessons, an exciting "golden fleece" plot, and interest facts about the Savanna.

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another decent entry.

[Lorie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Savanna Showdown is the last leg of the million dollar competition that has taken Mari and her three teammates around the world to identify and photograph animals based upon clues they receive. Will Mari’s Red Team have enough stamina, smarts and spirit to beat out the other teams in the lead?

This early chapter book, which will appeal to readers in 2nd- 4th grade, offers an adventure story that kids will like. As the characters move from location to location to find the animals, the book offers interesting Creature Feature pages that explain the animals. What it also does well is give the reader a good picture of the issues, challenges, and features of that habitat the racers are exploring. Readers who like series fiction will probably want to start with the first book and work their way through the series, but it is not a requirement for enjoying this title especially for kids who like animals.

I would recommend this book and series for purchase to any school or public library.
This book was provided by the publisher for professional review by SWON Libraries.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fourth book of the Race the Wild series brings the first leg of the Wild Life competition to a close. As the end draws near, Mari, from whose point of view this story is told, becomes more and more concerned that, though she knows a lot of scientific facts, her inability to keep up with her teammates physically will cost them their chance at victory. These books seem to improve as time goes on. The third book, Arctic Freeze, was the most exciting up to that point, and this one is equally as engaging. I still mostly skipped over all the scientific facts between the chapters because I found it distracting, but I was fully invested in Mari's problem of seeing herself as the weakest teammate, and I was as unsure of their fate as the team itself. The exploration of the African savanna is also really interesting, and kids who like animals will be invested in the story for the wildlife alone.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my favorite of the four books in the series (so far!) I've been on safari in Africa before, and I thought this painted a great picture of what it's like. It wasn't specified where they were but once they went to the Ngorongoro Crater I looked into it and found that they were in Tanzania.

My one big issue with this book, knocking it down to 4.5 stars, is that their "adventure" was incredibly unsafe. When you go out on safari, you go with a driver who carries a weapon in case of emergency. These kids were basically just running and driving around the savanna, putting themselves in great danger. Super fun book, but I wish that it hadn't been so unrealistic.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This time they are racing on the African Savannah.
The team mostly counts on Mari to figure out the clues to win. Who will win the race? Read the book to find out!
I really like this book because it is great. You should read it.

[Deacon Yeager · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so happy that team Red won! Mari was really brave going up in that hot air balloon. I couldn't have done it. No way!

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book series is amazing. My nephew and I just gobble them up. He loves the drama and I love how much I learn. Weird right?

[Maximilian Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it because I like hot air balloons and cheetahs. I also liked it because I like craters and volcanoes.